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Tag Archives: U.S. News and World Report

Best College: What That Means for Us

U.S. News & World Report has ranked The University of Scranton among the top 10 “Best Regional Universities in the North” for the 26th consecutive year. U.S. News ranked Scranton No. 6 in the 2020 edition of the “Best Colleges” guidebook, which became available online today.

U.S. News also ranked Scranton No. 5 in its category in a listing, based on peer assessment recommendations, of the nation’s “Most Innovative Schools,” which recognizes colleges that are making “innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology and facilities.” In addition, U.S. News ranked Scranton No. 12 in its category in its “Best Undergraduate Teaching” listing of the top colleges in the nation expressing “a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.”

In national rankings, as opposed to listings by category, U.S. News included Scranton among America’s “Best Undergraduate Business Programs,” ranking Scranton at No. 224 in the U.S., and among the nation’s “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs,” ranking Scranton No. 143 among schools where a doctorate is not offered. Also, in national rankings of all business programs in America, U.S. News ranked Scranton’s entrepreneurship program at No. 33, its finance program at No. 43 and its accounting program at No. 52 in the country.

In addition, Scranton was ranked No. 38 as a “Best Value Regional University in the North,” which compares academic quality of programs to cost of attendance. This is the seventh consecutive year U.S. News has recognized Scranton as a “Best Value” school. Scranton was also listed among the “top ranked” colleges where students do well based on “spirit and hard work.”

U.S. News slightly changed the methodology used in its rankings this year to include a first-generation student graduation variable among the data used to determine a school’s “outcomes” assessment, which represents 35 percent of the overall score. Other factors in the “outcomes” assessment include a social mobility score, freshman retention, graduation rates and graduation performance rates, which compares a school’s actual graduation rates with predicted graduation rates based on characteristics of the incoming class.

In addition, U.S. News considers a range of quality indicators for its ranking that includes peer assessment of academic excellence (20 percent); faculty resources (20 percent), which now includes regional cost-of-living adjustments to faculty pay and benefits; student selectivity (10 percent); financial resources (10 percent); and alumni giving (5 percent).

U.S. News categorizes colleges for their rankings based on the official Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classification of universities.

The 2020 U.S. News “Best Colleges” rankings became available online Sept. 9.

Why Choose Scranton for a Graduate Program?

Nationally Recognized Programs & Points of Pride

The University of Scranton is committed to providing excellent and rigorous graduate education through programs that will prepare you for careers. Students focus on their fields of specialization under the guidance of our top-notch faculty and benefit from our state-of-the-art technology and other resources.

Many of our graduate programs are nationally recognized for their quality and affordability:

U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” has ranked The University of Scranton among the 10 top master’s universities in the North for 25 consecutive years.

Our MBA program was ranked among the top 15 in the nation for general management by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.

Our master’s in health administration (MHA) program ranked No. 1 in the nation for full-time enrolled students in a list published by Modern Healthcare, a health care business weekly magazine.

In its 2019 “Best Graduate Schools” guidebook, U.S. News & World Report ranked several of The University of Scranton’s master’s degree programs among the best in the nation:

Operations Management (15)

Rehabilitation Counseling (24)

Information Systems (20)

Health Administration (42)

Finance (23)

Physical Therapy (53)

Accounting (28)

Occupational Therapy (58)

Part-time MBA (74)

Nurse Anesthesia (65)

Scranton’s online Master’s in Accountancy program was named Best in the Nation by Best Colleges, an independent online higher education resource.

U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 “Best Online Programs” ranked the University’s online MBA program No. 91 in the nation. The University’s graduate program in Education ranked No. 113.

Our MBA in Health Care Management program is ranked #25 by AffordableColleges.com in a list of the most affordable online master’s in healthcare management programs in the nation. Scranton’s program stood out in both quality and affordability.

Scranton’s graduate Nursing program was recently ranked #98 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Something for Every Lifestyle: “Best Online Graduate Programs”

U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 “Best Online Graduate Programs” ranked The University of Scranton’s online master’s degree programs in business (excluding MBA) at No. 76 and its MBA program at No. 109 in the nation. U.S. News also ranked Scranton at No. 52 in the country for “Best Online MBA Programs for Veterans.”

This is the eighth consecutive year that U.S. News ranked the University’s online programs among the best in the nation. The methodology used by U.S. News to determine the ranking has changed several times throughout the years.

For the 2019 Best Online Programs ranking, which published Jan. 15, U.S. News reviewed statistical information submitted by schools. The ranking criteria differed by category. The criteria used by U.S. News to rank online business and MBA programs included student engagement (28 percent), which looked at graduation rates, class size, one-year retention rates, and best practices such as accreditation by AACSB International, collaborative coursework requirements, course evaluation requirements and other factors. The ranking criteria also included admission selectivity (25 percent); peer reputation score (25 percent); faculty credentials and training (11 percent); and student services and technology (11 percent).

In addition to offering distance education programs that incorporate coursework that is predominantly online, colleges and universities making the “Best Online Program for Veterans” list must have ranked in top half of 2019 Best Online Program rankings; be certified for the GI Bill, which includes participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program; and enroll a “critical mass of veterans” as defined by U.S. News based on the size of the college.

Scranton offers online MBA degrees in general business, accounting, enterprise resource planning, finance, healthcare management, human resources, international business and operations management; master’s degrees in accountancy, finance, health administration, health informatics and human resources and a dual MBA/MHA degree, in addition to graduate certificates. For technology, recruitment and marketing support, the University partners with Wiley for the online programs.

In other rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, Scranton has been ranked among the top 10 “Best Regional Universities in the North” for 25 consecutive years. Scranton is ranked No. 6 in the 2019 edition of the guidebook. U.S. News also ranked Scranton No. 3 in its category in a listing of just 168 colleges in the nation expressing “A Strong Commitment to Undergraduate Teaching” and No. 11 in its category in a ranking of the “Most Innovative Schools.” U.S. News also ranked Scranton’s programs in entrepreneurship at No. 31, finance at No. 36, and accounting at No. 37 in the country, among other rankings.

Rankings Matter: Striving to be the Best

The University of Scranton graduate programs are once again ranked among America’s best by U.S. News & World Report in its 2019 edition of “Best Graduate Schools” that published online March 20. Scranton’s part-time MBA program ranked No. 74 in the nation and its graduate program in nursing ranked No. 98.

For the rankings, U.S. News uses data gathered by surveys of university faculty and administrators, and for some programs, professionals who hire recent graduates, to assess the quality of programs. U.S. News also uses statistical data such as faculty student ratios and student test scores in its ranking of the “Best Graduate Schools.”

The University’s graduate-level business programs include a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Master of Accountancy (MAcc), Master of Science in Finance (MSF) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in general management or with a specialization in accounting, enterprise resource planning, finance, healthcare management, international business, management information systems, marketing and operations management. The University also offers combined/accelerated bachelor’s and master’s level programs including accounting BS/MBA, operations management BS/MBA, finance BS/MBA, management BS/MBA, and College of Arts and Sciences Bachelor’s/MBA.

All of the University’s graduate programs hold the highest national accreditation within each discipline, including accreditation by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) for business and accreditation by The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for nursing.

In undergraduate rankings published online and in print by U.S. News, Scranton has been among the top 10 “Best Regional Universities in the North” for 24 consecutive years. Scranton is ranked No. 6 in the 2018 edition of the “Best Colleges” guidebook. U.S. News also ranked Scranton’s programs in finance at No. 17, accounting at No. 17 and entrepreneurship at No. 22 in the country. U.S. News also ranked Scranton No. 18 as a “Best Value Regional University in the North.”

To learn more about graduate programs at The University of Scranton, click here.